This post expands on part 1 chatGPT: A Practical Guide for Curious Parents, and explores 5 specific thinking skills needed to navigate ChatGPT with wisdom.
Are you a parent of young children? Have you been thinking “ChatGPT isn’t even on my radar. I don’t need to worry about that yet.“
- Even if you have preschoolers or elementary aged children, this is a valuable post for you. There are simple, low cost, high impact ideas to build teachable thinking skills now that could improve their ability to navigate generative AI, later.
- Check out the infographic for specific ways to teach these crucial thinking skills and adjust them to match your specific child’s age and capability.
Or…
Are you a parent of tweens or teens?
- You may have heard about ChatGPT from your student’s school or teacher. Some middle school and high schools have banned this tech from their campuses and others have embraced it as part of the modern day classroom.
- If you are already familiar with ChatGPT, read on and learn more about teachable thinking skills we can build up in our teens and tweens, whether they are currently using ChatGPT or not.
- Are you worried about the content that chatGPT provides? Are you concerned about their ability to evaluate the information from chatbots and apply it? I created a student workbook that teaches the C.R.A.A.P. method, a way to evaluate output from ChatGPT while learning valuable critical thinking and analysis skills. It’s completely free and available here:
Contents:
- In light of ChatGPT and its capabilities, do our kids still need thinking skills apart from AI?
- What thinking skills are essential now, more than ever?
- Executive functioning
- Information literacy
- Asking the right questions
- Communication
- Ethical thinking
- How do we teach those skills?
- Infographic
- Takeaways
- References
1. In light of ChatGPT and its capabilities, do our kids still need thinking skills apart from AI?
Are thinking skills obsolete?
I’ve heard an argument that our children won’t need to learn to do basic cognitive tasks, such as remembering, classifying, summarizing, interpreting, or even comparing or contrasting, because generative AI is capable. ChatGPT can tell you the right answers and formulate responses for you… so why teach our children those things?
I think this argument assumes 1) that the AI is capable of quality output every single time (which is already suspect1) and 2) that the AI will always be readily accessible (high user volumes sometimes render the service unavailable, and paywalls may limit inclusion of varying socioeconomic groups).
But, for the sake of argument, even if generative AI can perform a function accurately and is easily accessible—does omitting the training of thinking skills benefit your child in any way?
Products vs. processes
Now more than ever, our children absolutely need thinking skills and the ability to communicate, apart from AI. They need the skills to navigate the digital world well.
Generative AI generates a product or outcome. Teaching our children to think means we are developing their thinking processes.
A reliance on generative AI can potentially lead to a decrease in thinking skills because it provides quick solutions and generates ideas without the user needing to engage in the cognitive processes that are involved in creating those solutions or ideas.
We aren’t training child robots capable of spitting out answers. We are cultivating minds with the ability to thoughtfully consider ideas and articulately respond.
The allure of a shortcut is certainly present, given the sheer number of ways we can access generative AI. But I don’t want my children to always choose the easy route with a chatbot. The reason and voice of chatGPT could potentially be helpful, but I don’t want it to replace their own.
2. What thinking skills are essential now, more than ever?
- Executive functioning
- Information literacy
- Asking the right questions
- Communication
- Ethical thinking
Some overlap, but all are important for navigating digital experiences.
1. Executive Functioning
Executive functioning is a foundation for effective thinking skills–a set of underlying cognitive processes. Executive function involves regulating and controlling the other cognitive functions of the brain like attention, memory, self-control, or problem solving. Executive function is like an air traffic controller who is managing the coming and going of planes in multiple lanes at the same time.2
By regulating thoughts, emotions, and actions, students can focus on what they are learning. Generative AI like ChatGPT can provide a wealth of information and entertainment, making distraction almost effortless. Therefore, students need to develop the ability to stay focused on the task at hand and avoid getting sidetracked.
2. Information literacy
Information literacy is the ability to find, evaluate, and use information effectively. Information literacy isn’t just a thinking skill–it’s a life skill crucial for navigating the age of digital information as it becomes more and more difficult to differentiate between credible and non-credible sources.
Lack of information literacy skills can contribute to the spread of false information and can lead to poor decision making when there is inaccurate or incomplete information. Using low quality AI responses could lead to academic, professional, or personal consequences.
To practice this skill right away, download the free workbook Smart Kids Chat Smarter.
3. Asking the Right Questions
Asking the right questions is both an art and a foundational thinking skill. Asking the right questions involves identifying gaps in knowledge or understanding, and exploring different perspectives. The way a question is asked will determine what information ChatGPT provides.
You will get completely different answers from ChatGPT if you ask “What is a thinking skill?” vs. “What are the most important thinking skills that parents can teach their children and how can they do this in a low cost way?”
Which of those questions would provide you with the most useful information?
4. Communication
Communication, the way we share ideas with others, is both a thinking skill and a social skill. Our brains think of what we want to say and how to say it in ways that other people can understand.
It is easier than ever to replace communication with AI generated responses. ChatGPT is excellent when crafting an email, but will your teen be able to respond face to face in a verbal exchange with their supervisor at work? Communication is essential for success in all relationships, whether at home, school, play, or in the workforce.
If students are over reliant on AI to communicate for them, they may not develop and hone the skills needed to speak clearly and effectively on their own.
5. Ethical thinking
Ethical thinking is examination of values and beliefs and making decisions in line with those values and beliefs. Using AI with integrity will require consideration of complex ethical issues.
Students (and teachers) must recognize that their own values may not be reflected in ChatGPT or in the way other people utilize it. Without ethical thinking skills, students may not appreciate the responsibility for the content they generate with the help of chatGPT. They will also need to identify biases and stereotypes, and even respond to inappropriate or harmful information.
3. How do we teach these skills?
Use these tips as a starting point for building up cognitive elements like executive function and honing skills in information literacy, communication, asking the right questions, and thinking ethically.
You’ll notice that modeling, reflection, and exploration are key components of teaching any key thinking skills. For more on modeling, check out the post Modeling: How to Shape Brains & Behavior For Better.
4. Takeaways
There are ethical, moral, and philosophical implications for using generative AI and as it changes and its application spreads, our children need to be able to use it with integrity and skill.
ChatGPT should not be used to replace thinking skills, it should be used to enhance them.
In the era of ChatGPT, thinking skills are more important than ever. There is currently no research stating that chatGPT can reduce thinking skills in young students, because good research takes time, and there hasn’t been enough time since its release to conduct high quality research. However, like any technological tool, it’s the way in which it is used that has the greatest impact.
I’m hopeful that in the coming months and years, we will see research specifically exploring the benefits and risks of using generative AI, particularly in education. I’m hopeful that we will see research based “best practices” for using ChatGPT with young learners. I’m hopeful that we will see studies of ChatGPT’s impact on brain function that are longitudinal (observing the same participants and variables over a long period of time, sometimes for years).
I’m cautiously optimistic.
The way we interact with generative AI like ChatGPT is evolving and will be different a year from now.
But today, with the information available to me, I’m focusing on teaching thinking skills that can prepare my children for whatever ChatGPT has in store for us.
Looking for more?
Put these skills into practice right away with your middle or high school student by grabbing the free student workbook Smart Kids Chat Smarter that walks you the C.R.A.A.P. test for evaluating ChatGPT output.
References
- Hsu & Thompson (2023). Disinformation researchers raise alarms about A.I. chatbots https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/08/technology/ai-chatbots-disinformation.html
- InBrief: Executive Function (2012) https://developingchild.harvard.edu/resources/inbrief-executive-function/#:~:text=Executive%20function%20skills%20are%20important%20throughout%20life.&text=Positive%20Behaviors%E2%80%94Executive%20functions%20help,well%20as%20those%20of%20others.
- Spiegel, et al. (2021) Relations between executive functions and academic outcomes in elementary school children: A meta-analysis. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2021-59065-001
